Fast Cars and Freedom
by DizzyDrea
Summary: Time has a funny way of passing while we're not looking.


Title: Fast Cars and Freedom  
>Author: DizzyDrea<br>Summary: Time has a funny way of passing while we're not looking.  
>Rating: T<br>Spoilers: Season Eight, specifically Threads  
>Author's notes: My muse is misbehaving. I'm supposed to be working on the second half of a two part story, but she keeps running off in different directions. Alas, I must follow or else she'll refuse to work at all. This story was inspired by the song "Fast Cars and Freedom" by Rascal Flatts. I heard it on the radio the other day, and this is what happened. Takes place at the end of season eight, with vague references to Threads.<br>Disclaimer: Stargate and all its particulars is the property of MGM, Gekko, Double Secret, Acme Shark and a lot of other people who aren't me. I am doing this for fun and for practice. Mostly for fun.

Author's Note 4/8/11: So, this was written a while back...a long while back. But it's one of my favorites, so I thought I'd finally share. Enjoy!

~&O&~

The stars were twinkling overhead, giving off their last brilliant light before the sunrise. There were no sounds being carried through the air, except the rustle of the wind through the trees surrounding them, but Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter had long ago gotten used to the strange sound of being off world.

She was straddling a log a short distance from the campfire, closing out the last of her watch before dawn broke and the team headed back to Earth. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye, but stilled her hand as it reached for her gun when she realized who it was.

General Jack O'Neill was moving towards her, two cups of coffee in his hands. She took a moment to watch him before her eyes returned to scanning their surroundings. He was tall, and more fit than most men his age, his graying hair the only thing giving his age away. He moved with the ease and grace born of years of Special Ops training, striding through the dark as though it were daylight.

It was good to have him back in the field. Even after taking the promotion to general, he'd still planned to go out on missions with SG-1. It just hadn't always worked out that way. And if she were honest with herself, she missed him out here—more than she knew she should. His quirky sense of humor and absolute frustration with her techno-babble made even the most routine missions memorable, but she missed him most when making the tough decisions. He'd made it look so easy, but she knew now that it was anything but.

"Sir," she called to him when he was just a few feet away. There was still an hour left on her watch, before the rest of the team started to wake and get ready for the day. "You're up early."

"Thought you could use some coffee," he told her, handing off one of the cups before he settled on the log, straddling it to face Sam.

"Thanks," she grinned. Her coffee addiction was legendary, matched only by their teammate Daniel Jackson.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, each letting their eyes scan the horizon, watchful for any signs of danger. Every so often, Jack's eyes would drift to his companion. She was stunning, even in fatigues. But he had also noticed she was off somehow.

She wasn't as quick to laugh these days, though that could easily be attributed to all that she'd been through lately. But he'd also noticed that her eyes weren't the bright shade of blue they used to be, and even her hair wasn't the same shining mop of sunshine atop her head, but rather seemed limp, dull and tired. Something was definitely wrong, and he'd decided that this morning he should spend some time trying to find out what.

With that thought in mind, he turned towards her and spoke. "Everything all right with you, Carter?"

Sam turned shocked eyes to her CO. She thought she'd been covering her gloomy mood pretty well, but just the expression on Jack's face told her that she hadn't done a very good job. She thought about trying to pass it off, but the look he was giving her made her think twice. He didn't look like he would accept whatever excuse she could come up with on the spur of the moment, so she opted for honesty instead.

"I'm just tired," she told him, admitting sheepishly, "I feel old."

"Pete?" he hazarded, and her shocked eyes told him he was right. By now her biological clock had to sound like a Glockenschpiel chiming the hour.

"Yeah," she confirmed, looking away embarrassed. "And my dad. Just when I had everything all worked out…" she let the sentence trail off, at a loss as to how to describe what had happened.

"…the oatmeal hits the fan and you're left staring at a drippy mess with no idea how it got that way," Jack finished for her.

Sam looked at him in surprise, then burst out laughing. "Something like that," she chuckled.

Jack just nodded. "Yeah, been there, done that, got the t-shirt."

She looked into his chocolate eyes, and saw the truth of his words. She knew very little about his past, but she did know he'd had hard times. And that he'd picked himself up and kept right on marching.

"How do you do it?" she asked, almost desperately, knowing he'd know what she was asking.

He considered his reply for a moment, taking a sip of his coffee while he decided how to answer. In truth, he wasn't sure how he'd managed to pick himself up and move on, considering how truly horrific some of the things in his past were.

"I guess I just keep reminding myself that there are good times coming," he told her.

Sam looked down into her coffee cup and frowned. "I just keep wondering if all my good times are behind me."

"You're not longing for the days of fast cars and freedom, are you?" he asked suspiciously. "'Cuz the old days are not all they're cracked up to be. Believe me, I know."

"God, no," she said, a small smile lighting her features. "I don't think I could handle going back. I guess I just wonder where all that time went. When did I get so old?" she asked, though she wasn't really talking to Jack anymore.

"Time has a funny way of passing while we're not looking," Jack observed wisely.

"Yeah," Sam agreed with him. "How exactly does that happen anyway?"

Jack shrugged. "We forget to remember the moments. Smell the flowers."

"And then we wind up feeling old and can't remember how we got that way," she finished his thought.

"Yeah," it was Jack's turn to agree.

They lapsed into silence again. The sun was just beginning to break over the horizon, and soon, their companions would be crawling out of their bedrolls. Jack looked at Sam and chose his next words carefully.

"Sam," he called to her. As predicted, using her first name had gotten her attention. She met his eyes, and he continued, pouring his heart and soul into his words. "I'm only gonna say this once, so listen up. You're beautiful, brilliant and loved. By everyone," he added at her surprised expression. "And you're only as old as you feel. I don't know about you, but right now, even after everything we've been through—or maybe because of it—I feel like a kid again."

Sam's smile could have lit the sky like daylight. Her heart soared at his words. Funny how just a few well chosen words could change a person's whole perspective. Jack's words seeped down into her soul and blossomed into a renewed sense of hope. "Me too," she told him, and the sincerity in her voice and eyes told him she meant it.

"Besides," he told her with a wink. "Youth is wasted on the young."

"Isn't that a line from a movie?" she asked him, her eyes sparkling.

"The best ones usually are," he replied, his own smile lighting his face.

"Thanks, Jack," she told him, using his first name to let him know she was truly grateful.

"You're welcome, Sam," he returned warmly.

Standing up, he pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her. She melted into his embrace, staying there for longer than she needed to, but reluctant to break away. Jack finally pulled back and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Better?" he asked in a low voice.

"Yeah," she whispered.

"Then what do you say we get a fresh pot of coffee going," he said as he moved off towards their camp. "The guys'll be up soon, and you know how Daniel is when he doesn't get his morning coffee."

Smiling, Sam watched Jack as he moved to the fire to prepare the coffee. She knew this moment would join so many others in that room they kept them all in. By now it was getting crowded, with moments both painful and pleasurable. But she also knew that this would be one of the moments she would treasure long after it had passed.

With a heart considerably lighter than when she'd left Earth the day before, she headed off to their camp to begin the day.

~Finis

A/N: Points to anyone who can name the movie that line comes from!


End file.
